Don McRae
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donmcrae.bsky.social
Don McRae
@donmcrae.bsky.social
670 followers 99 following 170 posts
Author of 14 books about fighters, surgeons, trial lawyers, South Africa and real life. https://www.donaldmcrae.com/ Interviewer for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/profile/donaldmcrae https://www.donaldmcrae.com/
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I have been working on The Last Bell for a long time but, finally, it's done. You can read about it here & pre-order a copy bit.ly/3UOUjYb. Out in March, this is my last boxing book. Thanks @amandakelley.bsky.social
for the majestic painting on the cover and to all at
Simon & Schuster UK
The Last Bell: Life, Death and Boxing: Amazon.co.uk: McRae, Donald: 9781398504189: Books
Buy The Last Bell: Life, Death and Boxing by McRae, Donald (ISBN: 9781398504189) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
bit.ly
Dalglish on watching Liverpool v Man U at Anfield with Fergie last Sunday: “Of course I gave him chocolate. He enjoyed them as well. He was like a wee kid going to school. Behave yourself or you’re not having any chocolate buttons. He was in good form, before the game as well.”
Asif Kapadia: “Kenny and Marina [Dalglish’s wife], and all those around them, are just good people. It’s important – particularly now when so many awful people are in positions of power – to tell a story about good people who care about others.”

Kenny Dalglish: “You’re supposed to help.”
Ed Caesar's intricately detailed and exhaustive exploration of Daniel Kinahan's world is a searing piece of investigative reporting. Boxing, of course, features heavily.

www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
The Cocaine Kingpin Living Large in Dubai
Daniel Kinahan, an Irish drug dealer, commands a billion-dollar empire from the U.A.E. Why isn’t he in prison?
www.newyorker.com
Thanks Peter...that made me laugh!! I will take it!!!
Reposted by Don McRae
A typically great @donmcrae.bsky.social interview with champion jockey Oisin Murphy in today’s Guardian, with what is, without doubt, the best/coolest-photograph-alongside-an-interview I’ve seen in my 18 years here. Was a joy in my role as print editor yesterday helping put this together.
Thanks so much Sachin! I loved the pix too!! It was quite a morning with Oisin
It was special to talk to Oisin Murphy as he spoke in gripping detail about the demons he faces as champion jockey. So much raw honesty about his alcoholism, the shock of turning 30, winning a fifth jockey's title and why he still loves racing and Sylvia Plath

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/o...
Oisin Murphy: ‘I found escapism but also an awful lot of trouble in the bottle’
The champion jockey tells Donald McRae about his pursuit of sobriety, his April car crash, a voracious need to win – and the poetry of Sylvia Plath
www.theguardian.com
It's always interesting to interview Geraint Thomas and, this time, we spoke about suffering, winning, the ones that got away, being normal, longevity, doping stories, retirement, finding a new way by working with riders in his upcoming job and his last ever race

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/o...
‘I’m the total opposite to Cav and Brad’: Geraint Thomas on how a normal bloke won the Tour de France
The two-time Olympic gold medallist tells Donald McRae about the grit and sacrifice needed to succeed for two decades in elite cycling
www.theguardian.com
I appreciated Jos Buttler talking so openly about the passing years, as a 35-year-old, the death of his father, helping England pass 300 in a T20 world first, the pain of captaincy, shedding that burden, new ambitions and why his bat still says 'fuck it'...

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/s...
Jos Buttler: ‘A big burden has been lifted – I wasn’t the same leader after the 2023 World Cup’
The England white-ball veteran tells Donald McRae about his post-captaincy career, his Ashes struggles and the recent death of his father
www.theguardian.com
It means a lot to be on this list with some very good books. Thanks to the @BookiePrize for their constant support of sports books....it helps so many writers.
It was fascinating talking to Ben Youngs as he explained the guilt that meant he was always looked down in shame when being praised as English rugby's most capped player. He was just as honest addressing the coaching limitations of Borthwick, Lancaster and Gatland
www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/s...
‘I didn’t get empathy from Borthwick’: Ben Youngs on family trauma and why he rates Eddie Jones
The former scrum-half tells Donald McRae why family illnesses made him feel guilty about being England’s most-capped player
www.theguardian.com
Reposted by Don McRae
I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again.

Ignore the haters, London is the 🐐
Thanks Martin O'Neill for being so honest and interesting as he spoke about being sacked from his final job at Forest, Marinakis, Nuno, being interviewed for England, the "nonsense" of expected goals and sporting directors and why he still loves football...

www.theguardian.com/football/202...
‘Expected goals is a clueless development’: Martin O’Neill on the changing world of management
Martin O’Neill tells Donald McRae about how he was sacked by Forest, the role of data in football and not getting the England job
www.theguardian.com
Thanks so much Scott. I appreciate it
Thanks so much Sachin
Only the memories of Mike Tyson at his most destructive in sparring can rival the vivid images I carry of the young Ricky Hatton training in an old hat factory. He was utterly lost in boxing. It all felt so pure. Ricky was unforgettable then – and remains so now

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/s...
Unforgettable Ricky Hatton turned boxing into a spectacle for his vast army of fans
The ‘Hitman’ was extraordinary in his fleeting prime with his career bringing adoration and the demons of fame
www.theguardian.com
When we decided to try and predict a winner between Canelo and Crawford, Bryan Graham and I could both easily have gone the other way and swapped choices. But here we have a stab at picking who might win tonight

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/s...
Canelo v Crawford: our experts predict the winner of Saturday’s big fight
Will Canelo’s power or Crawford’s precision prove decisive in their Las Vegas summit meeting? Our writers set out the arguments on both sides
www.theguardian.com
Thanks, appreciate it!